Business Case Assurance Resources

The Better Business Case framework explained

The information in this guide is intended for general purposes only. For more specific guidance around your organisation’s projects, please get in touch with our team.

In this section, you will find:

Creating a business case within the public sector demands careful research, preparation and review. Because the outcomes of government projects and programmes tangibly impact the country, and they’re funded with taxpayer dollars, it stands to reason that a business case needs to be done right. 

As a quality assurance provider for programmes and projects, our expertise extends to the earliest stage; the business case itself. By carefully reviewing a public sector business case, there’s a better chance of it properly meeting requirements and outlining the change that will occur as a result of the proposed work. 

Treasury has developed guidelines for public sector business cases which is a fantastic resource for ministries and state entities to create consistent, robust proposals. 

In this guide, we’ll talk about the key aspects of the Better Business Case framework that the Treasury created and how you can apply it to your own business case.

Managing risks in a project portfolio IQANZ

So what is the Better Business Case Framework?

The motivation behind this initiative from Treasury is to create consistency. When business cases are delivered in a variety of formats with different information, it can be really hard for decision-makers to make well-informed comparisons. As the Treasury website states, having standardised formats enables smarter investment decisions to benefit the public.

The framework is used by government agencies and state entities on significant projects that have either high importance for the department and its customers or there is a significant risk level to be navigated. You can read more about who and what projects the BBC guidelines are designed for here. Any projects that need Cabinet approval definitely have to use the framework.

Treasury recommends all projects and investment proposals follow the framework as it provides a good degree of rigour. This can help to avoid missteps with investments which is ultimately what all public and private sector organisations should be striving for.

The Five Case Model

Treasury’s framework uses the multi-faceted assessment of proposed investments known as the five-case model. Here, the business case is proposed through a number of lenses:

  • Strategic – how the investment will help support the agency’s strategic objective.
  • Economic – Creating value within the initiative for New Zealand
  • Commercial – determining the commercial viability of the project and how this will be achieved.
  • Financial – do the numbers work, can the investment be approved based on budgets?
  • Management – ensuring the project can actually be delivered (resources, time, approach etc).

The five-case model is reliant on there being clear accountabilities for each element. For example, a Chief Financial Officer would own the financial case, a project management office the management case. The commercial case involves things like procurement and contracts, so needs to be owned by the role responsible for this in the organisation.

You can learn more about the Five Case Model in Treasury’s long-form guide here. It’s a really well-written explanation of each of the five case types and what elements sit under them.

The investment management lifecycle

Creating a business case through the BBC framework is part of a broader approach in which the government outlines the process of ideation through to an approved and completed investment. The investment management lifecycle provides a useful reference for agencies to ensure significant expenditure is working through a stringent, well-considered process.

The four main stages of this lifecycle are:

  • Thinking/ideation of the investment opportunity – ‘Think’
  • Planning and scoping out the activity (including the business case) – ‘Plan’
  • Rolling out the work – referred to in this model as ‘Do’
  • Reviewing the performance and outcomes of the investment vs what was outlined in the business case and strategic goals – ‘Review’.

Treasury describes the business case function as transforming ideas and thinking into practical projects or programmes to deliver. This is understandably a highly important step to get right, hence the existence of the BBC framework.

Learn more about the investment management lifecycle and how it pertains to BBC here.

Senior Responsible Owner (SRO)

Beyond the different aspects of a proposed investment described in the five case model, there needs to be an overarching owner of the business case itself. Lack of clear ownership from the beginning is one of the more common roadblocks in any business initiative, and business case development is certainly not an exception.

The Senior Responsible Owner doesn’t do everything related to creating the business case, but they do need to coordinate each part and ultimately approve the finished case before it goes to decision makers.

It’s common although not necessarily a rule that the SRO on a business case will be the project sponsor during delivery. It makes sense for there to be this consistency and Level 2 leadership that push through business initiatives will often lead the business case development.

Treasury states that this role needs to be confirmed before the business case even starts being developed. Too often we see business cases started without this senior ownership. That leads to problems for the team building the business case when there’s no one to make decisions or cut through problems.

What does the BBC framework provide to help navigate the business case?

There are a number of resources on the Treasury’s website. To help navigate the different elements of the business case, we’d suggest checking out their resources and tools section.

Treasury also provides specific guidance for both smaller, low-risk projects which are typically under $25m, larger low-risk projects (over $25m) and guidance for high-risk investments.

You’ll find process guidelines as well as downloadable templates, which are very useful for creating your business case efficiently.

How does assurance fit into this?

IQANZ are well-versed in the Better Business Case framework, and provide business case assurance for public sector agencies using this for their investment decisions. We’re able to provide assistance throughout the process before the business case hits the sign-off stage. This provides a layer of confidence that the investment proposed will be successful, asking the hard questions and helping to find the answers before it’s under the spotlight.

Discuss your business case with us

We’re experts at both the BBC framework and general business case development. This is just part of our wider assurance offering, where we assist projects, programmes and portfolios to succeed through our proven methodologies and experience. Start by contacting our team to discuss your business case.

Where to next?

Read our other business case resources:

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